Happy Birthday, Kate!
by missy52061
Summary: Kate Beckett reflects on birthdays past and present. I don't own Castle, I just wish I did.


**A/N: I couldn't let this day pass without writing something! Happy birthday, Kate!**

When Rick had suggested heading to the Hamptons for the weekend of her 40th birthday, she thought he was crazy. Yeah, they'd come out to the house when summer was over, but they had never come past October 15th. But she'd been running herself ragged lately, and had barely seen him or the kids much over the past few weeks. He had promised her a low key birthday, just him, the kids, his mom and her dad, maybe Alexis and Mike. So she'd given in and said yes. His eyes lit up with happiness, and she was glad she had gone along with the plan.

So here she was, waking up in their big comfy bed in their beautiful bedroom in the Hamptons. The November sun was peeking through the blinds and she stretched her arms over her head as she woke. The room was quiet – even their 2 month old wasn't here in his bassinet. She was about to get out of bed when she heard the ruckus almost outside the door. She quickly slid back under the covers and closed her eyes.

Then the ruckus was inside the room. Three kids, their dad, their grandpa and grandma as well as their big sister all burst into the room, with those who could talk (which was everyone but Alex) calling out, "Happy Birthday!" She sat up in bed, smiling at her family. Her dad was carrying the tray of food, which included a nice steaming cup of (decaf) coffee. Her husband was holding Alex while her mother-in-law was carrying two year old Hannah. Three year old James was holding one of Alexis' hands, while her other hand rested on her pregnant belly. Her husband, Mike brought up the rear, and it seemed that he was in charge of the balloons.

Seeing her smiling family brought back memories of past birthdays – her 10th, when her parents took he to a "fancy" restaurant for the first time, her 20th, when her mom's murder was an open wound, and she and her dad didn't know how to celebrate without her mom. To her 30th, when she had known Castle for a few months. Somehow, he had found out when her birthday was, and left her a small gift when they were in the middle of that case with the dead DA/pimp. That little gift had made her smile and warmed her heart.

And all the birthdays she had celebrated since they became a couple. That first one, a few weeks after he had almost been framed by Tyson, so they had celebrated in a quiet way – a wonderful dinner cooked by him and an evening of proving how much they loved each other. She thought about her first birthday after they were married – the next week as a matter of fact – when they were on their way to their undercover honeymoon. Behind her back, he had purchased first class tickets for them and that had been wonderful. The birthday when she was chasing down LokStat on her own – and how he tried to make that one special too. And that first birthday after James was born, when somehow their 7 month old managed to make her a card and buy her a present.

She smiled thinking of all those birthdays and thinking of this one. Twenty year old Kate Beckett would have never thought she'd get here in twenty years – her mother's murder solved, the people responsible taken care of, and how a new family had been born of the ashes of that family. She thought about how many times Martha had simply hugged her and did nothing else; about the times Alexis and she would gang up on Rick; about how she and her dad were closer than ever; and about all the times Rick and she would look at each other when they were sitting at the dinner table with their kids. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall.

"So who's going to help me eat this breakfast!" she exclaimed, knowing that Jamie and Hannah could never resist their dad's pancakes. As her father placed the tray across her knees, the kids climbed up on the bed with the help of the adults. With a kid under each arm, her baby happy in his dad's arms, and the rest of her family in the room, she enjoyed her birthday breakfast. She had never had pancakes and fruit that tasted so good. Sappy Kate knew it was because they were made with love.


End file.
